The rest of the ride was made in comfortable silence, with Lincoln entertaining himself with the sights that the town of Royal Woods had to offer. He was so engrossed in the natural beauty of it all that that when the car finally came to a full stop and the engine died down to final growl, his sights flew forward to the front with a gasp.
"Heh, sorry, sweetheart, I guess I should've given you a heads up." Rita brought the keys from the ignition and dropped them in her purse. "But good news, we're here!"
Lincoln perked up and looked out the other window.
They had parked on the side of a street, next to a little square building bordering many others. Up on the awning above the door, a series of large, black letters spelling out the word DENTIST stood harshly apparent, and on the window of the door itself, several glimmering tooth stickers danced around.
"What is this place?" Lincoln asked Rita when the side door opened.
"This is where I work," Rita replied, reaching out to begin unbuckling Lincoln. "It's a dentists' office."
"De-dent-dent-t-t," Again, Lincoln flubbed the pronunciation of the word, bringing a blush to the boy's cheeks that he promptly hid by looking down. "What's that?" He asked meekly.
Rita laughed and reached beneath Lincoln's arms to hoist him out, "It's a place people go to get their teeth cleaned. A dentist is a doctor for your teeth."
Lincoln shrunk a little in Rita's grasp, "A doctor?" He bit his lip and looked down, his little fists curling at his side, "I don't like doctors. They're scary…"
Rita bit her cheek, but set Lincoln on her hip with a reassuring little smile, "Aww, don't worry, we're not here to get you looked at. We're just here to have a nice little mother-son day, okay?"
Lincoln gripped Rita's shoulder with his good hand. "You promise?" He found himself asking.
Rita reached into the bag she had slung over her other shoulder. "Well, if you don't believe me, why don't you try asking…" She pulled out a familiar friend with a flourish, "Bun-Bun?"
Lincoln gasped, this time with sudden joy. "Bun-Bun!" He cried, taking him into his grasp and hugging him to his chest with his casted arm. He gazed at Rita from the spot between Bun-Bun's ears, eyes positively shimmering with gratitude, "You brought him with us? I thought you wouldn't like that."
"Why wouldn't I like that?" Rita asked, eyebrows rising.
Lincoln hugged Bun-Bun tighter, hiding his nose in his white fur, "I—I don't know. I just didn't want to risk doing something wrong."
"Lincoln…" Rita brought her hand back to set it on Lincoln's back. "If there's something you wanna do that you're not sure about, you can just ask me; you don't have to worry about getting in trouble just for asking. Okay?"
Lincoln peered up at Rita, nodding demurely, "Okay."
Rita smiled again, dispelling the moment of seriousness by bouncing Lincoln in her arms, "Now, let's get inside, shall we? We don't wanna be late for our first day together, do we?"
Lincoln shook his head. "Uh uh," He said in solemn agreement.
And as Rita and Lincoln made their way to the door, a single thought wriggled its way into Rita's mind, a single concern that she knew had to be addressed maybe not that day, but undoubtedly eventually.
What was to be done when Lincoln did have to see a doctor?
…
The small front room of the dentists' office, though not inherently bearing anything intimidating still made Lincoln tense up slightly in Rita's arms. The stark whiteness and the sterile scent present on everything brought back unpleasant memories to the boy; memories of agonizing pain ripping through him, urgent toned doctors scarily saying things like, "we need to get this kid stabilized!", and needles, terrifying needles.
Fortunately for him, Rita knew this, and she was quick to do something about it.
"Look, Lincoln!" Rita brought him over to a nearby fish tank. "This is our little mascot! Meet Fisher!"
Lincoln's trembling ceased in favor of his piqued curiosity and he leaned over to peer into the tank.
Fisher was a goldfish; a tiny, diminutive little orange goldfish that flitted about the little plastic medieval tower amongst the false greenery waving about in the water. As if summoned by Rita's proclamation, he came up to the tank, observing the two people before his domain with little inquisitive eyes.
And Lincoln was utterly fascinated by him. "H-Hi, Fisher," He said demurely.
"Do you wanna feed him?" Rita asked. "He's probably hungry for his breakfast right about now."
Lincoln turned to Rita. "Can I?" He asked, his eyes widening.
Rita chuckled and reached out to grab a little can of fish food above the tank. "Sure!" She said, placing the can in Lincoln's good hand. "Just turn it over and sprinkle it into the water."
Lincoln looked to the fish food for a moment. Then, he leaned out over the tank, Rita holding him secure in her arms as he turned it over in his palm. Cautiously, he shook the can, watching the little flakes fall into the tank. "Is—Is that enough?" He asked, looking back at Rita.
"Why not just give him a little more?" Rita gently directed.
Lincoln did. And after Fisher was sufficiently fed, Rita took the can back from him, bouncing him again for good measure.
"Good job, Lincoln," She said. "I'm sure Fisher's giving you a real big thank you for that."
Lincoln smiled a small smile and brought his good hand up to wave at Fisher, "You're welcome, Fisher."
"Ah, Rita, I didn't hear you come in."
Lincoln jumped slightly in Rita's arms, soothed quickly by a quick pat on the back.
"Good morning, Dr. Finestein!" Rita turned towards the voice, bringing the bearer of said voice into Lincoln's vision.
A stout little man in a lab coat with a balding head of whitening hair stepped up towards Rita, his eyes stuck in a clipboard. "I trust you had a good weekend?" He asked, scribbling on the clipboard without looking up.
"I'd say so," Rita said, looking to Lincoln, "Considering who I have here with me now."
Lincoln blushed and twiddled his fingers in response. Did him being there really make her so happy?
"Oh, that's right!" Dr. Finestein brought the focus back onto him after jumping slightly after seeing Lincoln. "I'd forgotten you were expecting someone this weekend. I trust this is the newest little addition to your family?"
"That's right!" Rita replied joyously, "Dr. Finestein, this is Lincoln; Lincoln, this is Dr. Finestein."
"H-Hello," Lincoln timidly greeted.
"Hello there, Lincoln," Dr. Finestein said politely, but somewhat tonelessly. He glanced back at Rita before returning to his clipboard, "I assume today will start that shift of yours to mostly admin work, Rita? As you requested?"
"Yes, sir, Dr. Finestein," Rita said, nodding.
"Yes, yes, as I recall," Dr. Finestein said, rubbing his pen against the side of his head. "Well, that should be all fine and good, assuming we don't have any sudden influx of patients or anything. Looks like the majority of the people we're seeing today are here for just some routine cleanings and check-ups." He tapped his pen against the clipboard before looking up at Rita and Lincoln. "Would you like to see about getting him looked at today?" He asked, gesturing the pen top towards Lincoln.
"No, that won't be necessary, Dr. Finestein," Rita answered instantaneously. Despite her quick answer, she still felt Lincoln turn to stone in her arms. "Lincoln's just here to spend the day with me, nothing more," She added, giving Lincoln a reassuring grin to match.
"Quite," Dr. Finestein said, returning back to his clipboard. "Well, in that case, can you get a head start on those invoices? I don't want to risk us running behind."
"I'll get on that right away, Dr. Finestein," Rita replied. She looked to Lincoln again as Dr. Finestein turned away. "You ready to get settled, Little man? I have more stuff for you to play with."
Lincoln nodded, "That sounds nice."
Rita smiled and brought him towards the door Dr. Finestein had just disappeared behind. "Alright then, let's get you a nice little spot at my desk, okay, desk-buddy?"
"Okay." Lincoln shyly replied.
…
The rest of the morning passed by relatively peacefully for Rita and Lincoln. After getting him a little chair to sit next to her in, Lincoln was given free access to the bag Rita had brought with him to amuse himself at his leisure. Inside the bag were a myriad of coloring books, a sizeable box of crayons, several action figures, Teethy-Rex and Goldy blue, and the ball Lynn had given him.
Needless to say, Lincoln was short on boredom, sitting there while Rita typed away on her computer, making the occasional call while he himself colored away.
As for Rita, she made sure to give the boy whatever attention she could. She was quick to compliment his work filling the pages with color in front of him, putting particular emphasis on his ability to stay inside the lines and pointing out the numbers he was coloring in that were cleverly incorporated into the pictures.
"See, that's the number 4," She said, pointing to a picture of four apples side by side, "It shows how there are four apples here, see? One, two, three, four." Lincoln's attentive gaze to her finger as she counted the apples filled Rita with a small sense of hope. Perhaps she could help Lincoln retain the lost development that was neglected to him. "Understand?" She added, moving to Lincoln's hand. "Numbers help us keep track of how many kinds of things we have. Like your fingers." She gently tapped her pointer finger against each of Lincoln's, "One, two, three, four, five; five fingers."
Lincoln flexed his little fingers in the order Rita had touched them, going from his pinky to his thumb, "One, two, three, four, five; five fingers."
Rita beamed, "That's right, good job, Lincoln!"
Lincoln's face pinkened, but he smiled as he extended his hand to a cup with some pens in it, "Um…One, two, three; three pens." He looked at Rita inquisitively, "Is that right?"
"That's very right, Lincoln!" Rita replied with gusto. She clapped her hands in congratulation for the boys' good work, "Great job! You're a smart little man, aren't you?"
Lincoln's blush deepened and he looked back to the coloring book, "Am I?"
"Absolutely!" Rita affirmed. "You're a regular little Einstein!"
Lincoln didn't know who Einstein was, but he had a feeling Rita was complimenting him. "Thank you, Missus Mommy," He said demurely. He turned back towards the desk, capturing his eyes on something else.
Scattered around the relatively small desk space was a collection of photos, all of which bore a common group of people. Lincoln's new sisters smiled to the camera in each picture, filling the boy with a small fraction of the warmth the actual presence of the girls brought him.
He had known them for such a short time, and yet he found himself wanting to be reunited with them so much. I hope I get to see them again soon, He thought, biting his cheek.
"Aww, do you miss your sisters?" Rita correctly guessed.
"Mmhmm," Lincoln mumbled, biting his lip morosely.
"Well, don't worry," Rita said, looking to the clock, bearing the time of 11:30. Had the morning truly passed by so quickly? "Just a few more hours and we'll be able to pick them up."
A few more hours? That may as well have been an eternity to the poor boy.
Poor baby, Rita thought. Touching as it was that Lincoln had already grown so attached to his sisters, it did make it rather sad that being away from them also made him so unhappy as well. Maybe these pictures can fix that… She thought, looking forward and reaching for one such photo.
She laughed, catching Lincoln's attention when she brought the photo to him. "Look at this," She said.
It was a picture of Lori; much younger than how she was now. Her hair was tied in the same scruffy little twin tails Lynn's hair currently was in, and in her hand, the scepter she had given Lincoln was proudly held aloft in front of her.
"This was back when Lori first got that little toy, on her fifth birthday," Rita explained. She smiled at Lincoln, "She was the same age as you when you got it, talk about a coincidence, huh, little man?"
Lincoln blinked and took the picture. "She's so little…like me."
Rita laughed again and set a hand on Lincoln's back, "Of course, all little ones have to grow, just like you."
Lincoln could scarcely believe it. The Lori he knew was so tall. Compared to her, he was just a tiny little thing, barely reaching up past her legs. Yet there she was, just as small as him.
"See, there's more," Rita went on, plucking a few more pictures from the back of the desk. "Here's one of Leni and Lynn back when Lynn was just born."
Another picture, this one bearing a young Leni holding a swaddle of red blankets smiled out at them. From the folds of the blankets, Lincoln could see an infant Lynn slumbering away.
"And here's one of Luna."
The next picture showed a little Luna, playing on the very same xylophone she had given Lincoln. Even in the still frame of the picture, one could see the joy positively radiating off of her as she brought the mallet down onto the keys.
Lincoln remembered seeing a small portion of that joy when she demonstrated the musical capabilities of the xylophone to him.
"Oh, and here's Luan with some mutual friends of yours, Little man."
And the last picture showed Luan, with only a few teeth adorning her grin as she bopped Goldy Blue and Teethy-Rex together in her hands from her place in Lynn Sr.'s arms.
"They all look so happy with their toys," Lincoln observed. He lowered the pictures, looking towards Goldy Blue, Teethy Rex, and the ball that Lynn gave him sitting there beside his coloring books. "Was—Was it okay for me to take them?" He asked, looking at Rita.
Rita smiled somewhat sadly, leaning a little closer to Lincoln as he rubbed his back. "They gave them to you, sweetheart," She said. "They gave them to you because they wanted to show you how excited they were to have you as their brother. They wanted you to have the same happiness those toys brought them; because they care about you." She brought a hand to gently turn his face towards her, "Understand?"
Lincoln bit his lip and looked back to the pictures again. "Mmhmm," He hummed. He lifted his gaze, looking towards all the other pictures; all the other pictures of his new family. "I understand," He said, tremulously but surely.
Rita felt happy to hear that, and she looked at the pictures with Lincoln. She had countless pictures of her daughters there on that little bit of wall that was available to her.
And she was intent on having plenty of pictures of her son to go along with them.
…
"Lincoln, sweetie, don't you think you should slow down a little?" Rita bit her lip concernedly from her side of the little table her and her son occupied.
Lincoln ceased his voracious scarfing down of his lunch, a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich with some grapes on the side and a little juice box of apple juice. Upon hearing Rita's little suggestion, he froze and looked up at her, a smidge of jelly on one cheek, a smidge of peanut butter on the other. "Sorry," He said, rearing back from his food, a sheepish expression on his face.
"It's okay," Rita said, offering a placating little smirk of reassurance, "I just don't want you to get a tummy ache from eating too fast." In her mind, the image of the files Reggie had dropped with her and Lynn Sr. popped up.
Pictures of the little one sitting in front of her, an oxygen mask over his face, riddled with even more bruises than the ones she had seen the night before and bandages all over his poor little battered form lanced through her mind's eye, and alongside those images, recollected passages she struggled to read through zipped by, like scorching bullets through sheets of ice.
"Patient was brought in with numerous contusions over surface area of body, most notably in areas of ribs, stomach, and cranium. Right ulna was broken, presumably from falling down stairs while trying to run away from assailant. Shows signs of severe malnourishment. As such, patient should be eased into eating, as to avoid distressing the stomach and to avoid vomiting.
Those passages, and the many others that came afterward had brought tears to both her and her husband's eyes. And the pictures; Rita would give anything to go back in time to keep the events that led to those pictures from happening. The sheer injustice of it all, that an innocent child like Lincoln would have to go through such horrendous trauma at such a young age served as the lynchpin for her desire to give him the family life she knew he deserved. Because she knew every child deserved a proper family, and come hell or high water, she was going to give it to him.
So, she pushed those thoughts aside and continued eating her own lunch, a salad with bits of strawberries cut into the spinach with candied pecans and a light vinaigrette. "You really like your sandwich, don't you? Did you know your daddy made the jam himself?"
Lincoln's eyes widened and he looked to the sandwich, "He did?"
"Yup!" Rita said with a smirk, "He makes it himself every couple of weeks with strawberries he gets from a friend of his. It's tasty, isn't it?"
"Uh huh!" Lincoln earnestly replied. His legs kicked out from their place hanging from the chair and he took another bite, this one much smaller to Rita's relief. "I really like strawberries!" He said in a muffle of food.
"I'll be sure to take that to heart," Rita said. "Just as long as you promise not to eat too many of them. We can't have you turning into a strawberry now, can we?"
Lincoln's eyes widened, "Can that happen?"
Rita laughed, a full laugh that actually had her double over a little. "No, no, that can't happen, don't worry, Lincoln." She regarded him affectionately, "We really need to work on your sense of humor, don't we? Maybe you should spend a little more time with Luan."
Lincoln relaxed and reached for his juicebox, "I wouldn't mind. She said she was going to tell me a story later today."
"Oh, yes, she did," Rita said. "That should be something to look forward to. Luan seems to have inherited her story telling abilities from daddy."
"I liked last night's story," Lincoln said.
"We could tell," Rita said. "And there's a lot more to come."
Lincoln smiled and kicked his legs again, "That makes me happy." He blushed and averted his eyes from Rita, opting instead for the shiny holographic apple on the juicebox in his hand. "You all make me happy…Missus Mommy."
And it was with that little statement that Rita suddenly felt a surge of happiness run through her, making the bright sunny day she and Lincoln were enjoying even brighter than before. "You make us happy too, Lincoln," She said, bringing a finger up to brush aside a single tear.
And they ate in the warm rays of the sun; enjoying their little lunch with the comforting presence of one another to make it all the warmer.
…
"Lincoln, would you come with me real quick?"
Lincoln looked away from his staring contest with Fisher. "Yes, Missus Mommy?" He said, jumping from his seat and walking over to her. "Do you need something?" He asked, looking up at her inquisitively.
Rita shook her head and reached down to take his hand, "I just wanna show you something." She led him to one of the examination rooms Lincoln had seen the people that had come in throughout the day go into; a few of them coming out rubbing their cheeks in pain, he had also noticed.
Lincoln tensed and pulled back slightly when he saw the bright green examination chair, accompanied by a myriad of mirrors, scary lights, and other metal things he didn't want anywhere near him. "Am I seeing the doctor?!" He squeaked in fear.
"No, no, sweetie, don't worry!" Rita immediately kneeled down to Lincoln, squeezing his hand reassuringly, "It's just you and me here, no doctor and no check-up or anything."
Lincoln hated to admit it, but he still felt a prickle of suspicion wriggle within his mind and he still pulled away from Rita a little bit. "Then why are we here?" He whimpered, closing his eyes so he didn't have to see the terrifying surroundings he was trapped in.
"Sweetie, I just wanted to show you how to brush your teeth," Rita explained in a gentle coo.
Lincoln stopped pulling and pried open a single eye, "B-Brush my teeth?"
Rita nodded, "That's right. You saw the girls do it this morning before we left, remember? I just wanted to teach you how to do it. I imagine your teeth could use a little bit of a cleaning after the time you've spent with us."
Rita imagined his teeth could use much more than a "little bit" of cleaning considering the poor thing had to be taught how to brush his teeth at his age, but that was an issue to be addressed another time. For now, Rita just wanted to try and mitigate any further damage his teeth had already sustained by the neglect of his previous parent.
As for Lincoln, he did remember seeing the girls brush their teeth that morning; most notably, Lynn spitting toothpaste around like a firehose. In that regard, he certainly didn't have any qualms in learning a skill his new sisters possessed. But that still left one concern.
"Will it hurt?" Lincoln asked.
"Not one bit," Rita replied. She reached out for the counter with her free hand and pulled several toothbrushes to show Lincoln, "And look! They come in a bunch of pretty colors! You can pick whichever one you want. And guess what? We have strawberry flavored toothpaste."
This brushing your teeth thing was sounding better and better for Lincoln! In Rita's hand, a bright orange toothbrush was calling out to him. And strawberry toothpaste? Could such a thing really exist?
With a question like that buzzing in his mind, how could he say no?
"So, are you interested?" Rita asked, already knowing the answer.
Lincoln's eyes sparkled and he nodded while taking a step forward, "Mmhmm."
Rita smiled and extended the toothbrushes towards Lincoln, "Alright, go ahead and pick a brush then."
Lincoln, of course, picked the orange one. Then, he was scooped up into Rita's arms and deposited into the examination chair, tensing up slightly while being so.
"Okay, would you hold out your toothbrush for me?" Rita asked, taking a seat by Lincoln. When Lincoln did so, she brought a little pink tube to the brush's fibers and squeezed out a dollop of bright pink toothpaste. "Now, hold it under the water for a second," She said, turning on the little handheld water dispenser over the sink.
Lincoln did as she asked, putting his toothbrush under the running water.
"Okay," Rita said, turning off the water. "Now, what you're going to do is just take the brush and bring it across your teeth." She demonstrated the action by bringing a gloved finger to her own teeth and showing him the movement.
Lincoln looked down at his toothbrush. Then, with a trembling hand, he brought it towards his mouth and did as Rita showed him.
She was right, it didn't hurt. The first few slow movements felt perfectly fine, and the strawberry flavor only incentivized him to keep going. Soon, he was on a brushing frenzy.
Rita laughed, "Now, now, slow down, Lincoln. You don't wanna break the brush now, do you?"
Lincoln slowed down a little bit, but he still brushed with great enthusiasm, much to the approval of Rita.
"Alright, that should do it," Rita said after a few minutes. She brought a small paper cup to the water dispenser and filled it with water. "Here, now you rinse."
Lincoln lowered his toothbrush and took the cup, bringing it to his lips to sip the water within. A moment of silence followed as he swished the liquid through his mouth, diluting the strawberry flavor and leaving a refreshing palate cleanse in its wake.
"Now, spit it out into the sink," Rita directed.
Lincoln leaned towards the sink, and spat out the water.
Rita pouted a little. There was far more blood than what she expected. Not a good sign, not a good sign at all. "Good job, Lincoln," She said regardless.
Lincoln frowned, and his little hands clenched, shaking the toothbrush in one of them. "There's blood…" He murmured.
"That's normal," Rita said reassuringly. "You just need to brush your teeth more so your gums can get better." She reached for the counter behind her, pulling a bottle of blue liquid with a pink label up towards Lincoln. "Here, this'll help with that, too." She poured a small amount into a cup and presented it to Lincoln. "I'll warn you, this one will sting a little bit, but it'll help, I promise. Just spit it out when you need to, okay?"
Lincoln took the cup and looked into the little pool of blue liquid. This one would hurt? But he didn't want any more pain. Hadn't he gone through enough? Why would Rita want to put him through more?
"Lincoln, I know it sounds scary," Rita whispered, "But I promise it's only for your benefit." She reached out and set a hand on Lincoln's shoulder, "Please trust me. I only want to help you."
And Lincoln believed her. How could he not after everything she had done to gain his trust already? She'd adorned him in warm clothes, carried him up and down the stairs, introduced him to Fisher. She deserved to have him trust her.
So, with closed eyes, he took the strange blue liquid with a quick swig.
"Mmm!" Rita was right, it did sting! His cheeks immediately burned with the deluge of mouthwash that assailed them, and his lips pursed as he swished it around.
"Okay, Lincoln, you can spit it out." Thankfully, Rita gave him a relatively fast out, and Lincoln wasted zero time in lurching forward to spit it into the sink in a spray.
"Atta boy," Rita soothed, handing Lincoln another cup of water. "That was very good, Lincoln. You really are a brave little man, aren't you, sweetie?"
Lincoln took the water and immediately set to ridding himself of any residual stinging. Once that was gone, he looked to Rita, taking a few heavy wheezes.
Rita smiled and turned the chair around to grab a few other things for Lincoln. "Your sisters are gonna be so proud when they hear how brave you were!" She gushed.
"They will?" Lincoln asked, tilting his head.
"Absolutely!" Rita cheerfully replied. She turned back to Lincoln, now holding a little orange carrying case for his toothbrush and a blue sugar-free lollipop. "They know the dentist' office can be scary. So when they hear how you did, they'll be super impressed." She held out the treats for Lincoln to take, "But for now, why don't you enjoy a lollipop? We give them to all the brave kids."
Lincoln took the lollipop and handed Rita the toothbrush for her to put in the case, "Thank you, Missus Mommy."
Rita grinned and popped the toothbrush into the case. "You're very welcome, Lincoln," She said, her heart fluttering in the wake of the boy's smile.
Suddenly, she had an idea; an idea brought about by that smile.
"Lincoln…" She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. "Would you mind if I took a picture of you? Of your new and pretty smile? I want a picture of you to put on my desk."
Lincoln jolted and sat up, "Really? You want a picture of me to go with the girls?"
"Of course I do!" Rita exclaimed. "You're my son! And what mother wouldn't want pictures of their son?" She hoped against hope that Lincoln didn't put thought into the fact that his previous mother didn't care to take any of him beforehand.
Fortunately, Lincoln was too stunned to do so and instead, brought his arms against his chest. "O-Okay…" He said.
Rita beamed and lifted her phone up after opening the camera app, "Alright then, big smile, sweetheart! No being nervous now, everyone's gonna wanna see that pretty smile!"
And Lincoln, emboldened by his mother's praises was able to smile for her, his lollipop held aloft as the camera snapped.
"There we go!" Rita cooed, gazing warmly at the newly snapped picture. She looked up at Lincoln, turning her phone so he could see himself, "That's gonna go great on my desk! What a handsome little man you are, Lincoln!"
And Lincoln, again, believed her.
…
"Alright, Lincoln!" Rita tapped the mouse a final time, sending the computer into the logout sequence. "Time to go!"
Lincoln ceased his game of catch with Bun-Bun (which really was just him rolling the bouncy ball Lynn gave him between his palm and Bun-Bun) and looked at Rita. "It is?" He queried, eyes widening.
Rita giggled and brought the bag onto the desk, "Well, I'm heading out. You're free to stay if you want, but your sisters might be disappointed if you don't show up."
Lincoln jolted and immediately began gathering his toys together. "No, no, no! I'll go, I'll go!" He said in a rush.
Rita chuckled, "Don't worry, little man, I wouldn't leave you here." She grabbed several toys and carefully put them in the bag.
"Will Fisher be okay?" Lincoln asked, looking to the fish tank.
"Oh, don't worry, he'll be fine," Rita said with a reassuring smile. "Dr. Finestein will make sure he's taken care of for the rest of the day." She left Bun-Bun for Lincoln to carry and slung the bag over her shoulder, "Now let's hurry and get going. We don't wanna keep the girls waiting, do we?"
"Uh uh!" Lincoln said exuberantly. He placed his hand in hers and hopped off the chair, wobbling a little bit, but quickly toddling forward with Rita following behind him with an amused smirk.
"Goodness, you're excited, aren't you?" Rita laughed. As they made their way to the door, Dr. Finestein passed them by, his eyes still glued to his clipboard.
"Heading out, Rita?" He asked.
"Yes, Dr. Finestein," Rita replied. She looked down at Lincoln, still sort of pulling at Rita's hand. "Lincoln, would you like to say goodbye to Dr. Finestein?"
Lincoln jolted and stopped pulling. He hadn't meant to forget his manners. And he couldn't forget such things in front of his new mother. He had to make himself look good! "Oh, I'm sorry," He mumbled, stepping up to Dr. Finestein, "Goodbye, Mister Dr. Finest—Finestee—Finney-stee—" His brow furrowed and he glared at the ground. Why did this keep happening to him?
Fortunately for Lincoln, the adults actually found his little recurring problem rather humorous, adorable even. It was such an effective means of inciting affection, that Dr. Finestein actually looked down from his clipboard and laughed.
"And goodbye to you, young man," He said. "I'll look forward to seeing you again."
"Thank you, Mister," Lincoln said, still somewhat cross at himself for flubbing yet another word.
Rita smiled and began leading Lincoln to the door again, "Well, we better get going then, have a good day, Doctor."
"You two as well," Dr. Finestein said, a dollop of warmth now present in his voice.
The two of them left the dentist' office, going out into the outside world once more.
Outside, the smell of rain had mostly dissipated with the passing of the day, but the chilling freshness of autumn was still present, just now mixed in with the pleasing warmth of the sun.
Rita took a deep appreciative breath, "Isn't it a pretty day, Lincoln?"
"Mmhmm!" Lincoln hummed, taking a deep breath of his own, "It's really nice…" When he was further led down the sidewalk, he looked up at Rita.
In the rays of the sun, Rita looked downright angelic in Lincoln's eyes. Her golden hair shined like spun gold to him and her smile filled him to the brim with comforting warmth, making him feel like nothing in the world could harm him.
Lincoln didn't know this, but what he was feeling, that feeling of closeness and safety, that was how a mother was supposed to make their child feel.
"Missus Mommy…"
"Yes, Lincoln?"
"Um…" Lincoln looked down to the ground just as they got to the car. "Thank you for being so nice to me today. I had a really good time."
Rita felt another pang of sympathy hit her. To have a child thank her for the simple act of being kind; it wasn't supposed to be that way. "Thank you, Lincoln," She said, bending down to pick him up, "I had a wonderful time as well. You're such a sweet boy." She opened Vanzilla's door and began buckling Lincoln into his car seat. "Such a sweet boy…" She wistfully repeated, patting him on the head affectionately between bucklings.
Lincoln didn't flinch. Not one bit.
Once Lincoln was set in, Rita let him be and moved to the driver's seat, swiftly wiping away a tear in her eye before she looked back up at the rearview mirror. "You ready to go?" She asked, putting on her best smile for him.
"Mmhmm," Lincoln mumbled, squeezing Bun-Bun close to him.
"Then let's get going," Rita chuckled somewhat wetly. "We don't want to keep your sisters waiting much longer. I guarantee you they've been wanting to see you again, all day probably."
Lincoln blushed and looked down at his feet, lightly kicking them, "You think so?"
"I know so," Rita resolutely replied.
And with a twist of the key, Vanzilla roared to life, allowing the mother and son to venture down the road, towards the destination that would allow Lincoln to reunite with his sisters. And though he was filled to the brim with excitement to see them again, he couldn't deny that the day he spent with his new mother would be one he would remember evermore.